The 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index. The darker colored countries are the most corrupt.

No improvement on the corruption index

Mexico ranks 135th on the Transparency International index of 180 countries

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Friday, February 23, 2018

The latest global corruption index indicates that Mexico continues its slow but steady downward slide and remains within the ranks of the world’s most corrupt countries.

The 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Mexico in 135th place on the list of 180 countries with a score of 29, one point less than the previous year.

Compiled by the non-governmental organization Transparency International, the index scores countries between zero and 100, zero being highly corrupt and 100 very clean.

Sitting at the bottom of the index, with a score of nine, is Somalia, while at the top is New Zealand with 89.

The index found that more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50, meaning Mexico is far from alone. It is also far from being unique in terms of worsening levels of corruption.

Transparency International said this year’s index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption.

Mexico has seen its score drop consistently since 2014 when it was 35.

Mexico is near the bottom of the list of Latin American countries, sharing a poor showing with Honduras and Paraguay, and just above Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela.

These results make Mexico the worst ranked country in both the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G-20.

The Mexico chapter of Transparency International blamed the federal government’s resistance to extend the National Anti-Corruption System throughout the country for the drop in its ranking.

The NGO also said that the absence of a truly autonomous federal Attorney General’s office and the lack of firm punishments in corruption cases are contributing factors in Mexico’s score.

It recommended the efficient installation of the National Anti-Corruption System and the incorporation into the system of the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Federal Taxation Administration, SAT, to avoid the laundering and diversion of funds.

The final laws governing Mexico’s Anti-Corruption System went into effect in July of last year. The system was widely hailed when it was first introduced, but has run into strong criticism from the citizens’ commission designed to investigate corruption cases.